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JOURNAL TITLE

Adaptive Re-use in Interior Architecture: A Case

of Famagusta, Cyprus
Özge Cordan, Instructor.Dr, Turkey; Demet Dinçay, Academic Specialist, Turkey; Frederico
Fialho Teixeira, Instructor, Turkey.

Abstract: The architectural issues of adaptive re-use in the preservation of historical, cultural and traditional
environments remain a critical issue despite the latest developments. The protection of existing built-environments
through adaptive re-use proposals cannot be solely evaluated as an nostalgic attitude for rebuilding of past. On the
contrary, to see them as an extension of a valuable architectural and cultural past increases an insight for their aesthetic,
structural and cultural values. Within this perspective the main aim of adaptive-reuse proposals is to keep contextual
features as well as the essence of existing spaces. This strategy of reclaiming original spatial conditions, revises spatial
norms through new technological improvements that take into account contemporary design issues, aspirations and
values. In this context, this paper focuses on the adaptive re-use of interior architecture through the work of students
produced within exchange semester of the International Master of Interior Architectural Design Program (IMIAD) studio
in Famagusta, Cyprus. In this sense, the students gave new functions to the existing buildings and developed new
adaptive re-use proposals for five different locations trying to find out the essence of the existing buildings and
transferring them to new design proposals, as well as, considering new architectural needs, programs and relevant
technological improvements.

Keywords: Re-use, Adaptability, Interior Architecture, Student Work, Famagusta, Cyprus

Introduction

R apid urbanization, that lead to increasingly irregular and chaotic construcion, has
adversely affected physical environ along with historic environment. The fact that
we are steeply loosing historical setting, buildings, monuments and other cultural
artefacts adding to the question of protecting them has a profound importance in
complications of urbanization. (Altınok, 1998).
Preservation of cultural and historic structures and continue usage through adaptation are
still valid issues today, as they have been in the past. Theoretical and practical arguements about
preservation, environment, historic settings, re-construction in historical settings and adaptive re-
use are of importance for those who are interested in related theories and for designers who are
into the issue for urbanization, architecture, interiors or other points of view. While designing
and building in historical environment two general tendencies compete; one leaning towards
harmony and the other one leaning towards contrast, hybrid aproaches have been observed to
incline recently, both in quantity and quality. Moreover, basic technique would be to start from
primary absoring of the existing historical environment and dynamics that create it, and annotate
this as inspiration for nouvelle designs. In other words, ultimate goal should be to create a
comprehension of the essence and start designing from there on

Adaptive Re-Use in Historical Built Environment

Main purpose of preservation efforts for historic and/or cultural inheritance should be re-adaptive
a structure for the society, get the society to live with it and pursue ways to get the surround to
benefit from it. (Altınok, 1998).
Ahunbay (2007) depicts that many historic structures lose their maiden function owing to
changes in lifestyles over the years, and that they are forced into functions other than what it was
built for. The author also points out that structures which maintain their maiden functions are
now in desperate need of upgrades, that they are sub-standard and isolated to be ruined.
 CORDAN and et al.: Adaptive Re-Use In Interior Architecture: A Case Of Famagusta, Cyprus
Adaptive re-use for preserving historic and cultural environ is, in this regard, important for it may
help old constructions that have lost their original function due to social, cultural, economical
changes but still maintain their historical, cultural, monumental or environmental values claim to
be an effective actor in their surrounds.
One of the most important issues while deciding over adaptive re-use is the question whether
if proposed function complies with the existing building. On the other hand, mind that adaptive
re-use offers a new identity to the structure. As Davies and Berg have stated, “One of the most
prominent criteria while deciding over the new function in lieu of the structure’s lost function is
the fact that the structure will bear its new function with its new identity and its renewed
charecter (Davies and Begg, 2010). While adaptive re-use is merely a new programming when
existing structure of a building is in compliance with new fuction, a nouvelle spatial distribution
would be required for the ones with contradicting original and proposed functions (Moravanzky,
2001), (Selçuk, 2006). In other words, different processes and dynamics should be considered
while bestowing a new function to a building. Moreover, new function should allow new users to
value the worth of the structure while accepting it as a part of their daily urban lives.
Main objective in adaptive re-use of a building with a historic-cultural or otherwise
definitive specialty is to build a bridge between life styles and potentials of the past and today,
that are; dynamics that created the past and potentials of developing and diverse culture of today.
Interior and structural renovations must preserve structural value and bring it back to life as well
as introducing aesthetic changes for new requirements when adapting new architectural
programmes to existing structures. As Latham has put it “adaptive re-use or re-functionizing is
important both because it offers us ways to live our past and also it offers nouvelle design ideas
(Latham, 2000). Re-use and comprehension of the core concept thus emerge as a solution.
On the other hand, excluding examples that require massive structural renovations, all
organizations and arrangements within architectural shell may be defined with interior
architecture scope. Adaptive re-use of an existing structure whether historic or not, is a
fundamental study, research and application area of interior architecture.
Adaptive re-use of interiors consists of analysis, determining new functional programme,
interior interventions and space allocations. But still, for a functional alternation of a building
with all its historic and cultural features worth preserving; physical preservation, structural
intervention and interior design works need to be in coordinated harmony for sound results.

Process of Adaptive Re-Use Proposals in Interior Architecture Education:

Famagusta Case
The re-use of existing building stock and protection of unique historical and architectural built
environment as well as keeping them as cultural artefacts are very distinguished studies in
interior architecture education.
The design process can be generally described as it is below:
 Design research
 Analysis
 Developing initial ideas and concepts
 Developing desing proposal
 Detailing
 Visualization
 Construction
This design process, which is based on analysing, finding out and understanding the
dynamics of existing built environment and re-using of them as physical entities can also be
summarized in interior architecture education;
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 Design research
 Analysis
 Giving an appropriate function
 Developing initial ideas and concepts
 Developing interior architecture design proposal
 Detailing
 Visualization
After doing research for gathering information about the site, subject, place and people who
are supposed to use the developing design proposal, the analysis process, the first step of
redefining new function to an existing building, is related with those steps below:
-Information gathering (written and/or visual) and documentation
-Determination of past use
-Determination of contextual relationship between the building itself and its existing
natural, cultural, historical, and architectural environment
-Analysis of physical condition, structural character and space organization
-Definition of interior and exterior architecture characteristics
-Determination of physical traces and periods
-Investigation of the building potential related with new spatial, functional and structural
interventions
-Determination of value related with new using of the existing building through
contextual parameters.
The second step is related with giving an appropriate function to an existing building. In this
step;
-Decision of new use considering the contextual, cultural, architectural, symbolic,
structural characteristics etc.
-Adaptation of new spatial, functional and structural interventions to the existing use
and intrinsic characteristic of the building, are the issues to be handled.
The following step is related with developing of initial ideas and concepts for new adaptive
re-use design proposal. The determination of the contextual features between building and its
environment, including physical and periodical traces and also its special characteristics are the
key factors that lead the designer. In the light of these determinants, the design process is
completed with the issues that are mentioned below:
-Decision about design scenario and concepts
-Complementation of new adaptive re-use proposal with design decisions
-Layout organization
-Space organization
-Structural and technological insertion
-Constructing interior space atmosphere
-Decision, application and detailing of lighting elements, furniture, material board, color
schema and so on.
-Visualization of design proposal through with physical model and 2D & 3D
representation techniques.
In this context, the following section of this study is about works of students related with
developing adaptive re-use proposals for specific buildings which were selected. These works
shown the results of the collaboration between International Master of Interior Architectural
Design Program-IMIAD1at Istanbul Technical University in İstanbul in Turkey and Graduate

1
International Master of Interior Architectural Design-IMIAD has run since 2005-2006 academic year, based on the
IMIAD Memorandum of Agreement that has been signed between Istanbul Technical University Department of Interior
Architecture-ITU (Istanbul/Turkey), Edinburgh College of Art-ECA (Edinburhg/Scotland, Lahti Polytechnic-LAMK
 CORDAN and et al.: Adaptive Re-Use In Interior Architecture: A Case Of Famagusta, Cyprus
Program of Eastern Mediterranean University in Famagusta 2 in Northern Cyprus, in the context
of Interior Architecture Design Studios of both institutions with the umbrella of “Parallel Studios
and Practices” in the spring semester of 2012.
The five different locations, four of them in the historical city walls and one in the outer skirt
of the old medieval town called Famagusta in Northern Cyprus, were selected working sites of
the design studio. The selected sites can be seen below in Figure 1.

Figure 1: Selected Sites

In this context, the students were asked to define the building programme, giving an
appropriate function to new adaptive re-use proposals, solving technologic issues and
constructing the inside atmosphere as well as keeping existing contextual features of the building
site such as cultural, historical, architectural and so on. In other words, the new design proposals

(Lahti/Finland), Scuola Universitaria Professionale della Svizzera Italiana-SUPSİ (Lugano/Switzerland) and Stuttgart
University of Applied Sciences-HFT (Stuttgart/Germany). The Centre for Environmental Planning and Technology
University-CEPT (Ahmedabad/India) has joined the collaboration from 2011-2012 academic years onwards.
2
The city of Famagusta, known as Arsione in ancient times, was founded at the place close to its present location by
Ptolemy Philadelphus the Egyptian as a small fishing village. It was, firstly mentioned in the history in the seventh
century, called as Famagusta in times (Gürkan, 2008).
The history of the city can be summarized chronologically as it is seen below:
 Lusinian Period (1192-1489)
 Genoese Period (1372-1489)
 Venetian Period (1489-1571)
 Ottoman Period (1571-1873)
 British Period (1878-1960)
 Cyprus (1960-1974)
 Turkish Federation of Cyprus (1974-1984)
 Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (1984-)
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should keep the genius loci of the place solving the technical, aesthetical, spatial, constructional
and other issues related with new insertions.
Throughout the design process, the students did literature review based on visual and written
documents as well as interviews, environmental walk through and site analysis to grasp the
genius loci of the selected sites. Seminars which were given throughout the design process were
also given by the specialist to lead the students. Thus the students had a chance to understand and
analysis the socio-cultural and spatial characteristics of the existing built environment.

Student House (Judith Speidel)

This project is an adaptive re-use proposal of one of the nearly destroyed typical town house with
a backyard where was located on so characteristic historical, small, narrow and shadowy street,
which is edged by a old gothic style church to be converted to the mosque called Lala Mustafa
Pasa, and the medieval Venetian Place in the Famagusta walled city. The selected site can be
seen below in Figure 2.

Figure 2: A View from the Site

This old house repeting the traditional house typology was converted into six-bedroom
student house in this design proposal. With an open space concept for accommodating foreign
students the flexible space provides the possibility to make them feel at home, by giving the
option of building their own identity. The interior space was reorganized according to flexible
modular elements and units, which allow each student to create their own identity related with
space organization, furniture and fittings. In other words, Since there is certain subjectivity to
the needs of every student these had to be adapted through the objective conditions of modular
elements. The modules were based on a 60 by 60 cm spatial paragon structure that consists of
different shapes colors and functions, offering in this manner multiple configurations. (Figure 3)
 CORDAN and et al.: Adaptive Re-Use In Interior Architecture: A Case Of Famagusta, Cyprus

Figure 3: Modules

Nonetheless in order and despite full adaptability the modules have specific functions related
to the functionality of the interior spaces. Following the same principle the materials and color
pallets were extracted from the surrounding areas however use within a contemporary
understanding of adaptive re-use proposal. Figure 4, 5, 6.

Figure 4,5,6: Plan, Section & Interior Atmosphere

Welness Health Center (Kathrin Blesing)

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By merging the concepts of yoga, spa and health club, this project is an adaptive re-use proposal
of the XV century Venetian House located in the historical area of downtown Famagusta as well.
The proposal appropriates a helath living center for an old house/palace.
This building complex, so called Venetian Queen’s Palace, a unique symbolic architectural
artifact from past up today, is characterized by big surrounding walls with an destroyed old house
with its portico, a chapel, a well, ruins dated back to different period of time, which spread
through the multiple levels of the garden, surrounding by the streets in different directions and
levels. The selected site can be seen below in Figure7.

Figure 7: A View from the Site

The design aims to bring together the scattered spaces by using water and light features with
their spatial and spiritual effects, into one main lounge area where eating, relaxing and social
spaces are simply separated through level change. Based on the warm climate of the island the
adaptive re-use proposal is immersed in a game of light and shadows where native materials and
colors provide local entity for a contemporary space. Figure 8, 9, 10.
 CORDAN and et al.: Adaptive Re-Use In Interior Architecture: A Case Of Famagusta, Cyprus
Figure 8, 9, 10: Plan, Section & Interior Atmosphere

Bandabuliya Market Place (Sabine Schukraft)

This project is located across the Lala Mustafa Pasa Mosque-old Christian church in the
historical walled city of old Famagusta. This local market place is well known in local tongue as
Bandabuliya, the name for a unique type of marketplace, a shopping place where people get
interaction with others and provide their daily needs throughout history in Cyprus. This market
hall is a unique place for the diverse needs of an urban community, which consciously deals with
their living conditions. The selected site can be seen below in Figure 11.

Figure 11. A View from the Site

The design proposal, which is keeping the original function of the old market, is aimed to
reorganize the existing place with new functional and structural interventions. The underlying
design concept is to construct a common place in which locals, visitor and foreigners feel the
cultural, behavioral and information-base exchange through the space, as well as keeping its
intrinsic purpose which is selling goods and properties. In this sense, the new Bandabuliya
Market Place suppose to create a higly dynamic meeting place strongly linked with cultural
identity and needs of people. In order to keep the crucial characteristics of the Bandabuliya, the
design settled on a surrounding deployment of shops balanced by a contrasting addition of
floating food court on the pool. The pool, in the inner courtyard, is designed in the middle axis of
the symmetrical plan layout, a sound-masking pond, to keep the balance as well as the integrity
of the open space, letting the dynamics of the space with the ground floor and art exhibition
space in the second floor through redesigned staircases. Despite introverted character of the plan
layout, the aim is to use the exterior and interior spaces altogether, keeping the visual and
functional relationship with the street, Lala Mustafa Pasa Mosque and the building itself. Figure
12, 13, 14.
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Figure 12, 13, 14: Plan, Section & Interior Atmosphere

Based on practical modular system schema, each shop layout includes an inner individual
space and selling stand, which allow exhibition of goods and materials. Figure 15. Despite
following a common typology, the contemporary design and materiality formulates new
understanding in the intersection of public place, culture and design.

Figure 15. Modules

Art Gallery (Sandra Meier)

The warehouses were located within the historical walls in the edge of old Famagusta, linking the
old harbour with the city. The adaptive re-use of the two warehouses as an Art Gallery are the
subject of this design proposal. The selected site can be seen below in Figure 16.

Figure 16. A View from the Site

The design idea is to create an experience center for the city that focused on prompting
cultural and artistic values of the region and connect the harbour and the city through Art. To
accomplish this, the art gallery is reorganised multi-functional to foster a faster socio-cultural
 CORDAN and et al.: Adaptive Re-Use In Interior Architecture: A Case Of Famagusta, Cyprus
integration. In this sense, the Art Gallery consists of spaces such as workshop area, exhibition
area, shop, café and depots. Figure 17.

Figure 17. Section

The previously independent warehouses are brought together by a central platform that
strengthens the functionality of the space on the ground level, as well as, providing a viewing
area to a hanging gallery in the top level. The both longitudinal walls, on the other hand, is
providing balance to the building carrying distinct functions. The workshop area on the right
hand side of the building, as a counterpart of the café on the left, is providing balanced dynamism
for both working and lounge areas, the café where located on the other side of the building is
linking the inner and outer spaces. Figure 18, 19, 20. In itself the building works as an exercise of
what was once autonomous spaces can be under the adaptive re-use understanding a sole identity.

Figure 18, 19, 20: Plan, Section & Interior Atmosphere

ITU Periphery Campus Library (Yvonne Hackh)

The challenge of this study is an attempt to re-use of an old abandoned building, which was built
as a repair house for the railway system of British Period in the mid of nineteenth century in
Cyprus, as a main library for Istanbul Technical University-ITU Periphery Campus in
Famagusta. The selected site can be seen below in Figure 21.
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Figure 21. A View from the Site

The old repair house, now located in the campus territory, was used as an industrial area in time
related with the discharging of railway system and separation of the island into two part as
Turkish and Greek. In this sense, the main idea of converting existing building a library as a
meeting point not only for students but also separated people of the island. In addition, a child
library settled down in the one axis of the building. Figure 22.

Figure 22. Section

The aim of the desig proposal is using the existing industrial ruins as a space and industrial
archeology as design concept. The repair house, composed by three longitudinal axis, became a
library where the center in the middle axis is designed the core public area merging
administrative, short stay and café areas. The other two axes are used as serving zones,
supporting the functional needs of library spaces. By appropriating industrial aesthetics the
design proposal makes use of old rails to provide mobile furniture linking inside and outside and
winches for recreational purposes. Figure 23, 24, 25.
 CORDAN and et al.: Adaptive Re-Use In Interior Architecture: A Case Of Famagusta, Cyprus

Figure 23, 24, 25: Plan, Section & Interior Atmosphere

The decline of the usage and the consequent separation of the island precipitated the
downfall of this iconic space of the industrial era. Merging the past and a potential future the
project developed into a thorough exercise of industrial archeology and adaptive re-use. Parallel
to the adaptation of industrial elements the re-use of the space further instigates a look to the
origins while thinking of the future.

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Conclusions...
When designing in a historical, cultural or unique built environment, the aim is to evaluate
existing building or building stock and see them as an extension of a valuable architectural and
cultural past increases an insight for their aesthetic, structural and cultural values.
In this paper, the issue on adaptive re-use in the context of interior architecture which was
held through the work of students in order to develop design proposals for historical
medieval city of Famagusta in Cyprus. Within this perspective the main aim of adaptive-
reuse proposals is to keep contextual features as well as the essence of existing spaces,
reclaiming original spatial conditions through new technological improvements that take into
account contemporary design issues, aspirations and values.
Shortly, it can be concluded that every attempt is related with adaptive re-use proposals to
develop its own design language with an aesthetic sensitivity and take into account the
values should have been transferred to future, building a bridge between past and today’s
need.
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REFERENCES

Ahunbay, Zeynep, 1996. Tarihi Çevre Koruma, İstanbul, YEM Yayınları.

Altınoluk, Ülkü. 1998. Binaların Yeniden Kullanımı, İstanbul, YEM Yayınları.
Davies, B., Begg N., 2010. Converting Old Buildings into New Homes, The Crowood Press,
Gurkan, H. Muzaffer., 2006. Kıbrıs’ın Sisli Gecmişi, Lefkosa, Galeri Kultur Yayinlari.
Latham,David. 2000. Creative Reuse of Buildings, Volume I, Routledge.
Moravanzky, A., 2001. “Modernin Mirasını Korumak”, Arredamento Dekorasyon, 9: 90-93.
Selçuk, M., 2006. Binaların Yeniden İşlevlendirilmesinde Mekansal Kurgunun
Değerlendirilmesi,Y.lisans Tezi, Selçuk Üniversitesi Fen Bilimleri Enstitüsü, Konya.

ABOUT THE AUTHORS

Özge Cordan: She was born in 1971, received her B. Arch, M. Arch and Ph. D. in architecture
from Black Sea Technical University. She won the first prize with A. Usta, Gülay K. Usta and
Ayhan Karadayı in the architectural competition for the Environment Ministry in Turkey, in
2001. She had worked as a research assistant from 1992 to 2004 at Black Sea Technical
University Department of Architecture. She has been teaching in the Department of Interior
Architecture at Istanbul Technical University since 2007. She teaches both undergraduate and
graduate programs. She is the member of many commissions in both ITU School of Architecture
and the Department of Interior Architecture. As well as her academic position she was a deputy
head of the Department of Interior Architecture from 2007-2010. She has been conducting the
ITU International Master of Interior Architectural Design Program-IMIAD since 2007 and also
IMIAD Program as general since 2010. She was a visiting scholar in DAAP-University of
Cincinnati-ABD in 2007-2008 (TINCEL Foundation Scholarship). She also thought with
Teaching Staff Mobility related with IMIAD. She is the advisor of many Master Thesis in IMIAD
Program. She has also an active research agenda as well as practicing.

Demet Dinçay: Born in 1971, Demet Arslan Dincay has a degree of architecture at Dokuz Eylul
University (BA) and an Interior Design (M.A) from the Hacettepe University. Presently she is a
PhD candidate at Istanbul Technical University at the Department of History of Architecture.
She works as an academic specialist in the department of Interior Design at ITU and currently
an instructor of color design for the undergraduate program, as well as a mentor in the graduate
program. Her research topics are focus in color and light theory in interior architecture and the
developing changes in dwelling.

Frederico Fialho Teixeira: He is an architect and media artist lecturing at Istanbul Technical
University. Currently he is a researcher at University of California Santa Barbara, where he is
an Awarded Fellow and PhD candidate at the Media Arts and Technology department, based in
the California Nano Systems Institute. In addition he is also a member of the International
Advisory Board for the Arkitekt Journal. Graduated in Architecture and Urbanism, he holds an
MA in History of Architecture from the Faculty of Architecture University of Porto, and a March
from the Design Research Lab at the Architectural Association School of Architecture. He
 CORDAN and et al.: Adaptive Re-Use In Interior Architecture: A Case Of Famagusta, Cyprus
worked for architects which include Zaha Hadid Architects and he is the co-founder of [f]Flat
Architectures research group. Presently his studies fall into the area of Visual and Spatial Arts
and focus in Biological Spatial Systems. In this field he explores structures with evolutionary
spatial characteristics that embody multidimensional properties. Processes established through
elemental modularity that carry multiple algorithmic strata. These spatial systems develop within
ubiquitous ecologies instigating multiple appropriations both in physical and virtual realms.

Acknowledgement
We would like to kindly thank to our IMIAD exchange semestre students, Judith Speidel,
Kathrin Blesing, Sabine Schukraft, Sandra Meier, Yvonne Hackh from Stuttgart University of
Applied Sciences-HFT in Germany, in 2012 spring term at Istanbul Technical University-ITU in
İstanbul in Turkey.